I’ve been reading Osho’s book “The Inner Journey” and I’m in love. It’s so well written and brings about such great peace.

The main concept of “The Inner Journey” is the fact that over the course of generations we’ve chosen to neglect the soul. In the book they call it “the navel”, our life-energy.

When born our life-energy comes from our mother through our umbilical cord, after cut we experience our first instance of separation from our mother’s. This first instance of separation will notify whether the baby is healthy or ill. After cutting the cord a healthy baby should cry knowing their life-energy source has gone away. Their life-source up until yesterday is no longer. If a baby doesn’t cry after the cord being cut it is most likely the baby is sick or close to death.

Our greatest source of life-energy comes from our navel, our soul, a function of the body that has been neglected.

Over the course of centuries man has developed his functions subconsciously. We breathe without thinking, eat without thinking, sleep, everything needed to survive we do without thinking.

Sadly over the course of this time man has become corrupted due to the nature of evolution. Man has lost touch with being, lost touch with the navel center, rather we have focused all the attention on the brain.

Over the course of time we overdeveloped the brain and neglected to develop the navel. Eyes can’t hear just as ears can’t see, the brain and navel act the same way; the navel can’t function for the brain and the brain can’t function for the navel, they each have their own purpose. When we choose to neglect the needs of the navel we are putting pressure on the brain to comprehend and rationalize something it doesn’t fully understand.

Man’s brain is the most delicate thing in the world, it handles so much stress it’s a wonder how it doesn’t just break down and become mad. We hardly have any idea how delicate the nerves in the brain are, the nerves which carry the entire burden, the whole weight of life.

In order to access the life-energy of the navel center we must first relax our brain and whole body. The more relaxed the brain is the more sensitive it’ll become, you’ll start hearing and feeling every little thing from the heartbeat to the coming and going of your breath.

Being free of contemplation, free from thoughts is the basis of life. There is no significant process of life that’s related to thinking that’s why it’s so important to get into a deep sleep, so your processes can function without hindrance.

We need to free ourselves of anger; we need to learn to love. We cannot hate and love at the same time they can’t co-exist. Just as the heart cannot live and be at death, the heart cannot hate and love simultaneously.

Man’s mind is like a pendulum from one extreme to another, never staying in the middle.

We must learn to love. We must learn the spectrum of hate, we must understand the absence of hate isn’t love it’s just a lesser hate. We cannot love and hate at the same time; we either live through love or live through hate, one or the other.

Living through hate and anger, the heart center remains undeveloped and the impossible starts happening. What the navel and heart can’t complete the person will attempt to complete with his brain causing even more tension and stress.

Relationships from the brain center are based off intellect and only run so deep. Love is blind and arises from levels so deep it becomes difficult for us to understand the reasons for it. Love based off of intellect will never last; we cannot love through our brain only our heart.

Genuine, true friendship comes from the navel center. Love binds, friendship gives freedom. Friendship does not become someone’s master, it doesn’t imprison, it frees. One who is friend to all will reach the divine sooner or later because his relationships are happening with everyone’s center; soon he will become bound to the navel center of the universe.

The flow of breath changes moment to moment according to your state of mind. Either you change your mind and the breath changes or you change your breath and the mind changes. The deeper and slower you breathe the more your navel center will develop. As long as your breathing remains harmonious your thinking will become less.

What is it you want to accomplish? Maybe you want to start living a healthier life? Maybe you want to start saving money for the future? Start saving for a dream home? A future business?

Whatever it is you want to accomplish there are fundamental steps to making these changes occur in our daily lives. The biggest factor without a doubt being focus. Without focus we wander lost and without purpose. With focus and concentration we can strive to live purposefully, taking actions to improve the overall quality of our lives bringing us close to the dream we’ve established for ourselves.

To reach your vision it must be deeply engrained, your actions must come from a place of passion. Your vision should be your first thought when you wake and your last thought before going to bed. Your vision should be something you cannot go without, something no one can convince you to shy away from.

8 Principles to Accomplishing Any Goal

Visualize
Visualize where it is you want to be, visualize the end result, and visualize the journey. Where is it you want to be at the end of your transformation? Is it realistic? Can you see yourself taking the steps to get there?

Create a vision & action steps
This is where imagination becomes so important, we need to see it before it ever actually comes into being. Note everything you may encounter, note every opportunity, every risk, create actions steps incase these scenarios ever come into play.

Commit to action
A goal is just an idea without effort and consistent action. Wake up everyday with the intention to knock something else off the list.

Keep the end in mind
We all begin from different starting points, for some success and happiness might be harder to attain than others. Keep the end in mind; don’t quit, you’ll get there in time.

Accept failure and uncertainty
The road of success is buried in misfortune, don’t let failure affect your emotions. You’re going to fail its inevitable, you’re only human… we all make mistakes. Learn from your mistakes and move past them, don’t linger.

Evaluate and re-evaluate
Evaluate yourself, what does your progression look like up until this point? What could be done differently? Are you really utilizing your resources most efficiently? Your time? Are you taking the proper actions? Do your action steps need to be revisited? Is something missing?

The biggest question we should ask ourselves is “knowing what I know now, am I taking the best possible direction to reach my outcome?”

Things change that includes our vision and priorities. The more we come to understand about life, human nature and wholeness the more we redirect our energy to gain purpose from our actions. The more we understand our feelings and emotions the more aware we become and the more willing we are to make the correct choices.

Revisit your vision
is it what you truly want? Are you truly willing to sacrifice everything necessary to accomplish this vision? Are you fooling yourself? Or do you truly believe?

Give your best effort and persevere
If you’re completely sold on your vision and completely willing to sacrifice whatever it is to get there then there’s no better time to start than right now. Effort is between you and you, don’t limit yourself; work for everything you deserve.

Stay poised, don’t get down on yourself if you’ve been at it for a long time. If your vision is really worth it you’ll stick with it. Failure and mistakes are just stepping stones, don’t let them define you. Remember, if it was easy everyone would do it. Not everybody can musker up the strength and courage but for those who can glory awaits.

Why are we concerned with everything that hasn’t happened yet? We are worried about circumstances and situations that haven’t and may not ever take effect. Why is depression and anxiety becoming so common?

With constant overthinking we are constantly focused on the “what ifs” and the “unlimited possibilities” that our fear imposes rather than focusing on the opportunities that arise day to day. Living in fear we begin to rationalize every reason why our hopes and goals will never work out. As soon as we think we make progress facing our demons another roadblock persists. Fear has taken control of the general population like a grappling hook, one by one isolating victims dragging them down deeper and deeper into a dark hole they could never escape.

Why is obesity a leading cause for disease when it can be avoided? Why do we need to spend money in order to uphold an image or feel relevant? Why do most people suffer from addiction(s)? Most importantly why do we learn to accept our fears as our reality?

We rationalize every reason why we can’t do something and these become our subconscious beliefs. We one by one work our way through our limiting thoughts only to find another has taken its place.